The Collaborative Essence of StartUps in the Insurance Sector

StartUps as accelerators of social innovation

The entry of StartUps in every field of business has led to traditional companies having to assess their relationship with these new ecosystems and think about how to achieve harmonious coexistence.

In analyzing the emergence of new models of StartUps over recent years that have affected the banking and insurance industries, we can identify two different stages. The first wave was with StartUps known as FINTECH, which essentially represented a revolution in payment methods, alternative banking, cryptocurrency and the 'platformization' of banking. At this stage, as a frame of reference, the world of data was especially relevant and the most sought after factor was immediacy. Following on from this, a second wave of StartUps can be identified called INSURTECH, with a pronounced technological bias focused on applicability to the insurance industry.

The difference between the two lies in the fact that while the Fintech wave is more disruptive in nature, with examples such as peer-to-peer lending, the Insurtech wave is characterized by being more collaborative, providing cooperation models that have greater symbiosis with the insurance sector, as shown in examples such as initiatives focused on risk analysis, the visualization and exposition of environmental risks, parametric predictions, etc.

The result of this evolution is that the value proposition offered by Insurtech improves on that of Fintech due to its collaborative rather than competitive nature.

From our perspective, the main challenge presented by StartUps entering the insurance industry is being able to identify at an early stage, and incorporate into our business, those solutions that provide answers to the current demands of our customers, for whom technology is an ever more present factor in their daily lives.

The entry of these new actors into the insurance business enables us to further refine the design of new products and services that provide value to our customers and, most importantly of all for us, to use them as a driving force to accelerate social innovation within the sector, solving the genuine needs of our customers in a flexible and efficient way.

*About the author:
Josep is Director of Innovation for the MAPFRE Group. e coordinates thirteen teams of industry professionals and is focused on developing the company's value proposition on a global level. Previously, Josep was the Deputy Director of Direct Business within the MAPFRE Group and a founding member of Verti Seguros (a direct insurance company launched in Spain in 2010). Before entering the world of insurance, Josep worked as a senior management consultant for telecommunications operators, internet companies and communication groups in seven different European countries.